Enid Mary Blyton
On August 11th 1897, Enid Mary Blyton was born to Thomas Carey Blyton and Theresa Mary Harrison in East Dulwich. She was the eldest child and had two siblings, Hanly and Carey. Enid Blyton passed away in Hampstead on November 28th, 1968.
Aged 14 Enid’s first published work appears in a children’s magazine as a result of winning Arthur Mee’s poetry competition. During her early career, she decided to train as a teacher at Ipswich High School 1916-18 which provided her with the opportunity to continue writing, instead of attending the Guildhall School of Music. As a result of which she became estranged from her family as her mother did not approve of her career choice, unlike her father with whom Enid had a closer relationship. The separation of her mother and father in 1910 greatly impacted her well-being.
A turning point in her career path occurred in 1920 when Enid reconnected with an old school friend and illustrator Phyllis Chase, together they embarked on submitting collaborative work which ultimately contributed to her success as an author. Throughout her lifetime, Enid extensively contributed to various forms of literature. This included magazines such as Sunny Stories, newspapers, comics, poetry, plays, and of course her well-known books including ‘Noddy’, ‘The Twins at St Clares’, ‘Malory Towers’, ‘The Secret Seven’, and ‘The Famous Five’. She wrote for both younger and older readers, and for some of her work, she turned to her own experiences or her daughters’ time at school to bring stories to life. Her work is timeless and often evokes a sense of adventure. In fact, her writing has been translated into 90 languages, and over 600 million books have been sold worldwide.
Further reading: